Finagle's Law

[Anonymous]

Khirrin dove out of the doorway of her workshop, just as the space where she had been a moment before exploded into flame. The drow swore. She wasn't unused to her private projects turning on her, but this was just a simple clockwork. It wasn't even supposed to be dangerous. This was what she got for getting distracted while she worked; her hands were liable to do things without her knowledge.

The small brass bird hopped after her, spitting fire. It was meant to be wound, so all she had to do was wait for the thing to wind down, and hope it didn't torch anything too important.

Easier said than done, she thought, dodging another fireball--but then her foot slipped on a wet cobblestone, and she tripped. The next flame caught her leg, setting the fabric of her pants ablaze and burning the flesh underneath. Khirrin swore again, swatting at the fire as she ran. It hurt like hell, but if she couldn't get away from the clockwork, that would be the least of her problems.

She ran--or rather, limped at speed-- towards the center of the city, hoping to confuse it among the crowds. If it was distracted from her, she could perhaps find a way to crush it before it killed anyone. It would be a pity; the bird was prime workmanship, but her own survival outweighed any craftsman's attachment. The pain was getting worse; she should probably find a bandage, but that could wait.

The drow female was forced to dodge to the side, diving into a roll, as the little clockwork shot another blast at her. When she tried to stand, her injured leg collapsed under her--were burns even supposed to do that kind of damage? It was exactly her kind of luck. She'd survived drow society, she'd survived the wilds, she'd survived the odd pitchfork mob--and now she was going to be killed by a brass bird the size of her palm.

...Or maybe not; it seemed that luck was on her side today. As the automaton opened its beak, it froze; the key in its back stopped turning. Khirrin sighed with relief; the immediate danger was past. Of course, now she was stuck with a barely functional leg, and nothing nearly to rig a crutch out of. Maybe she could hop to find a doctor somewhere.

[Anonymous]

So far his time in Selevea had been relatively quiet. He had been in town for a little more than a week and actually planned on leaving that afternoon. But plans are known to change, of course - as did his when he heard what sounded like some kind of explosion somewhere close by.

Jarrah couldn't be sure what might have happened, but his instinct was telling him to go check it out. He could pick out the faint smell of smoke and maybe something burning, yet offhand he couldn't quite tell where it was coming from. After a moment he started to hear a bit of a commotion not far from where he was, so he wandered in that direction to see what was going on.

A small brass bird shooting dragon fire wasn't what he expected to find.

Though his curiosity was piqued, his attention quickly diverted to the one the oddity had been chasing. He may have been a block away yet, and his eyesight wasn't always the most reliable at such distances. But he could tell by the way she failed at trying to stand that something had happened to her leg. So he picked up his pace a little when he noticed the contraption had stopped moving.

He paused a few steps away, glancing at the bird one last time to be sure it wasn't about to spring to life again. Now that he was closer he could see the burn on the woman's leg, and he guessed she must have been drow. He couldn't recall ever actually seeing one - maybe he had, he didn't keep track - but it was difficult to mistake them for another race.

Crouching down in front of her, he chuckled a bit and offered his usual smile. "Goodness. Looks like you were given a run for your money, huh?"

[Anonymous]

Khirrin tensed at the humanoid's approach--she couldn't tell at this distance if it was human, elf, fey, or something else entirely. It didn't really matter; if it was going to be hostile, she was... well, pretty much screwed. She grimaced, testing her leg again; pain flared and it collapsed under her weight.

Ouch. Yeah, pretty much screwed. Optimism had better not fail her.

"Don't touch that," she warned unnecessarily as the...elf, yes, elf... approached. At least he had some sense, or maybe had seen the thing on its clockwork rampage. The last thing she needed was for some fool to go and wind the thing up again. It would probably result in painful and messy deaths for the both of them.

Okay, smile meant nonhostile, usually. That was good. Khirrin grinned back, a little forcedly, but pain was pain and it didn't like being ignored. "Yeah, unexpected consequences," she answered offhand. "Sometimes they turn out conscious like that. And they always seem to attack me..." the drow frowned. "No idea why. So, any idea where I can find some kind of doctor?"

[Anonymous]

His gaze wandered back towards the bird-like contraption as she spoke. Who would imagine such a little thing could end up such a danger? He never did like the idea of tinkering with things he didn't fully understand - this was a prime example as to why. No, he planned to stick to the medical field. Leave the tinkering to those willing to face the risks.

Jarrah returned his attention to the drow when she mentioned finding a doctor. His smile brightened a bit as he let his bag slip from his shoulder to the ground. "You're looking at one." He spent a minute digging around for what he would need to tend to the burn.

Normally, he would use light magic to heal the thing and just be done with it. But if he remembered right, most drow had some kind of basic connection to shadow magic. There had been instances in the past where he tried to use the light to heal someone who could control shadows - and every time, the aftereffects were negative. Sometimes for Jarrah, sometimes for the one being healed. Either way, it wasn't pleasant.

He had adopted a habit of asking anyone he tended to if they had a connection to shadows. But in obvious cases like this one, he didn't bother. Rather than risk it, he assumed there would be adverse reactions to light magic just to be on the safe side. He wouldn't be able to get rid of that burn in a few short minutes like he usually could, but that's how it had to be.

[Anonymous]

The random passerby happened to be a doctor? That was a stroke of luck. An unfortunately convenient stroke of luck, and one that Khirrin wasn't terribly inclined to trust. Her gaze kept drifting to the pointed tips of his ears uneasily; drow weren't exactly known for their benevolent attitude towards any of the peoples of the surface, but the surface elves were by far the most hated. Khirrin had never understood it, herself, but that didn't often matter.

She comforted herself with the idea that if he really was a doctor, he probably didn't want to hurt anyone unless it was necessary, and the fact that he hadn't just killed her on sight meant that he was willing to trust her. As long as she kept on his good side--advisable anyway; it was generally a bad idea to anger the person who was responsible for your continued wellbeing--she was probably safe.

Paranoia was getting her nowhere fast--a habit she needed to break, badly. She coughed to break the uncomfortable silence.

"I don't believe I caught your name..?"

[Anonymous]

"Ah, right. Silly me." He paused in rummaging through his bag to give himself a bop on the head for the apparent lapse of manners, and offered an apologetic grin. "Sorry. It's Jarrah. And you are?" It was an odd habit of his not to hand out his name unless someone asked. A lot of times he wasn't around others long enough for names to matter, anyway, so he didn't bother unless the subject was brought up.

The drow's unease didn't escape his attention. It was a reaction he encountered often, as it seemed the norm nowadays to be suspicious of every stranger to cross your path. But he wasn't in a position to judge, he supposed - he didn't always give folks the benefit of the doubt, either. There were plenty of unsavory characters running around, after all.

"You can relax," he said with a hint of a laugh. He finally located some bandages at the bottom of the bag, as well as a salve he carried around for burns, and brought them out where she could see them. "I'm who I say I am, I promise."

[[ooc - oh, just an fyi, his ears aren't pointed :P]]

[Anonymous]

(They're not? Oh damn, they're not. Can't explain Khirrin recognizing him as an elf then, either. Call it instinct, maybe?)

Khirrin closed her eyes briefly, forcing herself to relax. This was a city; people were more used to strangeness. "Sorry." She grimaced. "I had some trouble when I got to the surface, and old habits die hard." The drow shook her head, dispelling memories; looking up, she grinned. "Obviously I'm not doing as good a job as I'd hoped. The name's Khirrin. Got a shop down thataways," with a vague gesture. "Clockworks are my particular line of business."

Of course, it wasn't just clockworks, but most of her creations had some kind of time-controlled mechanism, at least until she could be sure that they wouldn't be aggressive. She'd have to shorten it... or just remember to wind them less. This was an experience she'd rather not repeat.

[Anonymous]

[[it could happen, lol]]

Oh, right. Drow were the ones who lived underground, weren't they? That's why he hadn't encountered many, if he had at all. Her unease made a little more sense, then.

Jarrah decided to interpret her attempt at small talk as the okay to go ahead with tending to the burn. This he did while she mentioned having a shop, doing his best to avoid irritating the injury as he peeled away the burnt fabric. It only took him a second or two to check how severe it was. Lucky for her, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He'd seen worse.

At the mention of clockworks, he gave a subtle nod towards the brass bird. "They don't all go bouncing around spitting fire, I hope," he teased, reaching for the ointment with a quiet laugh. He wasn't trying to be mean or point out her faults, just let her know there was no need to be tense.

[Anonymous]

Khirrin laughed, finally beginning to honestly relax. "No, most of them don't." A pause. "Actually, none of them do when I'm making them for someone else--only my personal projects. Huh." She frowned. "That's strange. Good thing you happened by, eh?"

Glancing down at her leg, she flexed her foot experimentally; the pain was tolerable, if annoying. Keeping still so that 'Jarrah' could apply the ointment, she asked casually--more to fill the silence than anything else--"So, where are you from?" Her callousness made her wince; too late to retract her words. She'd been stupid to ask such a potentially-sensitive question. Khirrin would certainly dodge the question, if asked. Her own history was a touchy subject, more because of her own failing than anything else, and she had no reason to believe that anyone else would be different.

'What brings you to Selevea,' would have been a better question. Khirrin filed it away to ask later.

[Anonymous]

Aside from the half millisecond-long pause as he worked, there wasn't much outward reaction when asked where he was from. The question, he knew, was innocent enough for most folks, even if there were plenty who might balk at the inquiry. Personally the thought did bug him a bit...but that was a time in his life he would rather forget and often claimed that he had.

Jarrah glanced up, offering a grin to reassure the drow her question wasn't intrusive even if it wasn't completely true. "La'marri. I grew up with my uncle out there." At least that one wasn't a total fib. Sure, he spent most of his early years in Uthlyn. But born there or not, to be honest, he didn't consider himself Connlaothi.

Those folks had some screws loose as far as he was concerned. Why in the world his parents stayed there as long as they did was beyond him.

When he realized his thoughts were straying way off into left field, he chuckled a little to himself to get his attention back to the matter at hand. He made quick work of finishing with the burn to keep his mind and hands busy, not bothering to ask the same question of Khirrin. By the way she winced earlier, he could guess that the question 'where are you from' was one she wouldn't want to answer herself.

A short moment later he was done and tossed his bag back on his shoulder. Offering a hand, he said, "Here, I'll help you up."

[Anonymous]

"La'marri, hm? Nice place, I spent a while there. Great people, but I didn't really fit in. Too explosion-prone." Indeed, the La'marren had been quite accommodating of her language difficulties, but one malfunction too many and they'd politely asked her to leave. Some people; a little property damage and they get all scared... Perhaps it had been for the better. La'marri had been too isolated for her taste; too difficult to get supplies. Selevea was much better, although from the looks of things she'd be leaving soon.

Khirrin accepted the offered hand with a grateful nod, gingerly putting weight on the damaged foot. Her leg felt much sturdier than before, although it would be painful for a while yet. (What had been in that bird's fire, anyway? Normal fire didn't cause that kind of damage.) "You do good work," she said. "It'd be nice to have an elf like you around more often." She grinned, only half joking. "How long are you in town, anyway?"

[Anonymous]

He almost made a wisecrack at the explosion prone comment but instead decided to bite his tongue. Though he did make a mental note to ask his uncle next time he was in La'marri if he remembered a drow with a tendency to blow things apart. Must have been before Jarrah himself landed there – a situation like this wasn't easily missed.

In answer to her question he said, "Actually, I was thinking of hitting the road today since things were so quiet." Glancing again at the brass bird nearby he added with a quiet laugh, "That's changed, of course. Why do you ask?"

As an afterthought, he wondered exactly what she'd done to that clockwork to make it so...potent. Considering the racket and smell of smoke earlier, it was safe to guess something somewhere was no longer in tact.

[Anonymous]

"Why do I want to know?" Khirrin said noncommittally, "No particular reason, but if you're sticking around, it'd be nice to know where there's a good doctor." For one thing, it would mean she could finish some of the things that had been lying around her workbench for far too long. Although some disassembly would be in order, she decided; if they'd picked up any residual... spark, or whatever it was that kept making her projects combustible, it would be best to start from scratch.

Which reminded her... "I'd better go check on my workshop." Hopefully the property damage wouldn't be too bad, and her papers at least would be safe. Unfortunately, the best she could manage was a slow limp. Khirrin grimaced; she'd have to make herself a crutch later. Woodworking wasn't her best skill, but at least she'd be able to walk. "Coming?" she asked Jarrah. "I can probably scrape up some food for us both; I at least owe you a free meal for your time."

The glitter of the motionless bird caught her eye; she scooped it up off the ground and dropped it in her pocket, plucking the key out as she did so. Leaving such a dangerous automaton around was a very bad idea, especially when any random fool might mistake it for a child's toy and wind it up. At least she hadn't had to destroy it; she could take it apart later and see if she could find out what had been in that fire.

[Anonymous]

He had to laugh a little at her answer to his question. Given that Khirrin seemed a bit too familiar with creating explosions – accidental though they may be – he wasn't sure whether to be flattered by the remark or uneasy. For sanity's sake he decided to go with the former.

As she started to limp away, Jarrah caught up to keep pace. He knew walking on that leg was going to be a bother, so he stayed nearby in case it gave out on her. For the moment he didn't respond directly to her offer, figuring he'd wait to see how things played out. He would make sure she made it back to this workshop of hers and go from there.

((blech...sorry, hamster muse died x.x))

[Anonymous]

(( Jeez, sorry for letting this drop again, I suck. :< ))

She didn't have a lot of food in the house--food was not usually something she considered until she got hungry, at which point she went out and bought however much she felt like she needed at the time--but she managed to scrounge up some bread, somehow fairly fresh and not a lump so stony it could have been mistaken for building material, and some cheese which was perfectly fine once she scraped the blue-green crust off.

"Sorry I don't have anything better," she said, shoving some diagrams off of her table-workdesk and fetching an extra chair. "Don't usually plan for company. You know how it is." If he was a traveler like herself, he probably did; she didn't usually have the opportunity to make attachments before she moved on, and she didn't really offer them either--she kept to her work mostly. It was good enough for her, if a bit lonely sometimes, but people would take time away from sketching and drafting and thinking and she liked that. Even if no one appreciated her better ideas. If Jarrah was a doctor like he said, then he probably had more chance of making friends, but they were both nomads of some sort.

[Anonymous]

[[Heh, don't sweat it. I let it drop, too. XD]]

"Yes," he said around a chuckle. "Yes, I do." Especially since he was a medic. There were times when he encountered quite a lot of unexpected company.

Jarrah stole a quick glance at some of the papers lying around the place, and the damage the brass bird left behind. He of course didn't completely understand what all the scribbles and doodles were supposed to be, but it wasn't hard to guess it all probably had to do with these clockworks Khirrin mentioned. For a brief moment he wondered to himself why - as she claimed - so many of them would turn dangerous on her, but he didn't spend much time pondering on it.

"You like to keep busy, don't you?"